Broken washing machine in new apartment

cjmcork

I'm moving into an apartment tomorrow - have paid rent for the month of march just to secure the place, but the owner has been on to say the washing machine is broken and there's a guy coming to fix it - I take it that I won't be expected to put towards these costs? what are others experiences?

Kenjd

No you shouldn't have to pay if your a tenant. And if anything else goes kaput, ring your landlord and he should get it fixed. Although i wouldn't ring him/her if a light bulb goes!! But any major/ structural things they are responsible for, but if you wreck it yourself better of getting it fixed on the QT!!

cjmcork

i'm going to be sharing with the owner.............but I asked when I agreed to the let what bills were involved and I was told rent, ESB, NTL and TV licence...........

The_Conductor

cjmcork wrote: »

i'm going to be sharing with the owner.............but I asked when I agreed to the let what bills were involved and I was told rent, ESB, NTL and TV licence...........

Seems fair enough. The washing machine was/is broken before you ever move in- QED- not your problem.

By the way I take it that the owner is availing of the rent-a-room scheme?

cjmcork

yeah, I asked about that and was told 'i don't do that' when I raised the tax credits issue........on the other hand, the rent is very reasonable for the area.........so not sure to do about that one

beeno67

cjmcork wrote: »

yeah, I asked about that and was told 'i don't do that' when I raised the tax credits issue........on the other hand, the rent is very reasonable for the area.........so not sure to do about that one

Nonsense. Claim what you are entitled to.

starky

cjmcork wrote: »

yeah, I asked about that and was told 'i don't do that' when I raised the tax credits issue........on the other hand, the rent is very reasonable for the area.........so not sure to do about that one

Claim away. If he is up to no good tax wise it’s not your problem. He can legitimately claim up to 10,000 PA under the rent a room scheme so don’t know what he’s worried about. Unless your paying mental rent. It his responsibility to be revenue compliment.

cjmcork

do I need to give the landlord's details when I claim though?

the_syco

I'm pretty sure you can claim the tax credits when you leave...

ixoy

cjmcork wrote: »

do I need to give the landlord's details when I claim though?

Pretty sure you need both their address and their PPSN which is surely not going to be easy to get without alerting them.

mydarkstar

ixoy wrote: »

Pretty sure you need both their address and their PPSN which is surely not going to be easy to get without alerting them.

Ideally you should quote the landlord's name, address and PPS Number but it's not essential.
If you cant get the PPS just put a note on your Rent1 Form saying that you couldnt get it. You will still be allowed the tax credit and Revenue will happily follow up on trying to put a PPS to the landlord's name. There's no come back on it for you.

If you have any reservations about claiming the credit you can always wait till you move out. You can claim for up to 4 years retrospectively.

Any landlord who's above board shouldn't hesitiate to recommend that you claim the allowance. Like another poster said the Rent-a-Room limit is €10,000 a year.

Claim what you are due

useruser

ixoy wrote: »

Pretty sure you need both their address and their PPSN which is surely not going to be easy to get without alerting them.

No. You need only supply as much or as little detail as you can, if you don't have the PPSN (or even the landlord's name & address) you can still claim.

beeno67

mydarkstar wrote: »

Ideally you should quote the landlord's name, address and PPS Number but it's not essential.
If you cant get the PPS just put a note on your Rent1 Form saying that you couldnt get it. You will still be allowed the tax credit and Revenue will happily follow up on trying to put a PPS to the landlord's name. There's no come back on it for you.

If you have any reservations about claiming the credit you can always wait till you move out. You can claim for up to 4 years retrospectively.

Any landlord who's above board shouldn't hesitiate to recommend that you claim the allowance. Like another poster said the Rent-a-Room limit is €10,000 a year.

Claim what you are due

+1

mikemac

This may or may not work OP.

Explain to the landlord that you won't be able to claim (though you can) your rental relief which is rightfully yours. And it's hardly fair if the landlord is claiming thousands in mortgage interest relief and you can't get what little you are entitled to. (it's a pretty miserable amount tbh)

Ask them to knock off €30 per month to even this out. Tell the landlord you won't claim as you are getting the equivalent money. You might not get €30 off but even €15-€20 would be ok.
If they still refuse, just act like you don't know much on the subject and that you will call the Revenue to find out more. The landlord may agree the lower rent and if not, I doubt they'll send you packing on your first week.

Then, when you move out, put in a claim anyway.
You manged to negoitate a better rent for yourself, you get your rent relief and the only loser is the landlord who wouldn't have lost if they was only honest and upfront.

Anyone see any flaws?

The_Conductor

To be honest- its quite possible that the owner has no idea whatsoever about how the rent-a-room scheme works, and given what the OP has stated- its sounds very much as though he will be well below the annual threshold. Instead of declaring open warfare on the guy- getting onto Revenue and getting a leaflet explaining the rent-a-room scheme and how it operates would be a whole lot less confrontational and less dupliticious.

From the owners perspective, he/she will have to do an annual tax return- which can be quite daunting for someone who has never done one before. If you point out the benefits- including all the allowances, refuse charges and loads of other things- it can work out to their benefit.

S.

seamus

Kenjd wrote: »

No you shouldn't have to pay if your a tenant. And if anything else goes kaput, ring your landlord and he should get it fixed. Although i wouldn't ring him/her if a light bulb goes!! But any major/ structural things they are responsible for, but if you wreck it yourself better of getting it fixed on the QT!!

The landlord is responsible for the upkeep of the property and the fixtures and fittings supplied therein.

So if a bulb goes, or a towel rail falls off the wall, or the cooker breaks, that's his problem and it's his repsonsibility to have it fixed/replaced.

The tenant has a responsibility to treat the fixtures and fittings properly and inform the landlord when they break.